Analyst marketing firm Credit Suisse is revising a previous prediction that the Nintendo Switch will sell 70 million units by 2022 and are upping that number to 130 million units. The firms primary reasoning is that they believe that the Switch sells more like a handheld and not like a home console (a part of Nintendo’s genius.) These are analyst’s Keiichi Yoneshima’s own words on the subject:
“As Nintendo’s Switch is a unique game platform for use as either a console or handheld, there was initially some uncertainty over whether its sales cycle would more closely resemble that of a console or handheld. Although the Switch is currently categorized as more of a console, we expect it to sell like a handheld. Many users are in fact using the Switch as a portable according to a Famitsu survey of users. We previously projected a sales peak at about three years after launch (i.e., in FY3/19) on the assumption of a console-like sales cycle. Now that the Switch looks more likely to sell like a handheld, we update our sales forecast to reflect a longer sales cycle. We now expect the Switch to achieve peak sales about five years after launch (i.e., around FY3/20–21) like a typical handheld game device. We also raise our peak-year sales forecast from 25mn to 31mn units.”
As you can see, they are also forecasting that the Nintendo Switch will sell 31 million units a year. If this is the case, they may be even to overtake the PlayStation 4, although both are fantastic consoles and I would recommend any and every gamer to own both, as I’ve said in a previous article (I lost it during my host migration.)
Another analyst, Atul Goyal, believes that two blockbuster releases coming to the Switch are further proof of the console’s explosion in its growing notoriety.
An enormous Chinese company Tencent announced last week that they are releasing their most prolific game, Honor of Kings, to the Nintendo Switch. Remember, China is a huge market so this is important.
The second game Mr. Goyal references is Rockstar’s L.A. Noire coming to the Nintendo Switch in addition to the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
Mr. Goyal surmises this much better than I can, so here are his own words.
“It was a surprise when Take Two studio Rockstar (creator of GTA and Red Dead Redemption) announced L.A. Noire game for Switch (in addition to launch on PS4 and XBO). This is a sign that Nintendo platform is expected to be big and attractive enough for third party developers to dedicate resources towards game development for Switch.”
The future is very bright for the Nintendo Switch, and regardless of an ongoing console war (I own all three systems and my go-to consoles are the Switch and PlayStation 4), massive success is in the Switch’s future.